Ger Rennie's dedication to soccer made him a worthy Distinguished Service to Cork Soccer award winner at AUL awards night

THIS Distinguished Service to Cork soccer award winner is another great and worthy recipient.

And it just so happens that this year our winner celebrates his 50th anniversary in football which began with schoolboy teams Lee Rangers and St Mary’s.

It has been a football life full of ups and downs, mainly bad days and very few where the champagne corks popped.

But the few that were memorable provided the resilience to take some positives from defeats before turning things around again.

When our winner started work with the soccer mad crowd in Brooks Haughton, he helped, along with Philly Singleton, to found a youth team called Central Rovers.

However, this youths team achieved little but experience and it led to greater things after the club’s junior side made its debut in 1979.

Central in no time at all gained promotion to Division 2.

They won the championship in 1982, followed it a year later by completing the League and AOH Cup double.

Central Rovers were like a breath of fresh air with their slick passing game winning admirers from all over Cork.

Strange as it may seem that became their downfall.

The vultures were circling and stars such as Patsy Freyne, Bobby O’Donovan, Declan Courtney and Billy Cronin were “kidnapped”.

Our recipient, as honest as the day is long felt he wasn’t good enough to play on that Central team.

After playing in the first three rounds of the AOH Cup he transferred to Glenvale where he was to spend the next 17 years.

One of the award judges, Plunkett Carter was a spectator in Dunne’s Park when he had the misfortune to break his leg in a league game against Greenmount.

He sat on the bench in Turner’s Cross with his crutches when those two teams contested the City Challenge Cup final.

He had never thought about team management until approached by Glenvale and his five years spent as team manager there proved beneficial later in his career.

When his good friend Patsy Freyne took over Castleview seniors in 1999 Patsy asked him to join him.

Unfortunately, Patsy was recalled by Cork City so our man, with the blessing of the management, took over the reins and brought Mick O’Keeffe on board to work with him.

They got off to a great start defeating Glasheen in a promotion play-off to provide the View with Munster Senior League Premier football for the first time.

They failed to maintain the improvement and slipped back down again 12 months later.

With Patsy back playing they almost returned immediately but this time lost out in a promotion play-off with near neighbours Temple.

The Clough and Taylor partnership of the north side were together again in 83-84 with the Freyne Rennie double act enjoying a rare celebration bringing off the Division 1 League and Pop Keller Cup double.

And things even got better:

2005 was Castleview’s ‘ Annus Mirabillis’ winning the MSL Premier League for the first and only time in their history and in doing so accomplished a very rare feat winning the First Division and Premier titles in successive seasons.

Patsy and our winner managed the Munster Senior Representative Inter -league side between 2006-10 winning the Michael Ward National Competition in Donegal in 2010.

A domestic matter brought his managerial stint to an end - his mother was seriously ill and needed more of his time.

He was able to continue on the committee where he helped with fundraising and other duties with all the club’s teams.

You’d swear from watching TV ads that the GAA was the only organisation with dedicated volunteers.

Go up to O’Sullivan Park, Castleview’s headquarters, and on match days or training nights or Academy coaching nights, you’ll find this man and his cohorts suitably attired, attending to the many chores necessary to maintain presentable facilities.

It’s the same at most clubs.

Volunteerism is alive and kicking in Association Football.

But, more are needed to share the burdens with the Rennie’s of this County.

Now in his 23rd season with Castleview and 50th overall, he is a deserving addition to the list of those honoured for Distinguished Service to Cork soccer.